ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed will be leading a trade mission this month to Brazil, seeking new business opportunities for the city.

Joining Reed will be the president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, city council members and economic development officials. Business leaders and representatives from Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia are also expected to participate.

Reed said this week the goal is to promote Atlanta with potential investors and help local companies expand business opportunities. Reed plans to meet with elected officials in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during the trip, scheduled for April 5 through April 12.

Reed says he's confident the trade mission will strengthen Atlanta's position as an international economic capital and foster job creation.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Department of Juvenile Justice hosting job fairs

ATLANTA (AP) — Department of Juvenile Justice officials say they're hoping to recruit veterans and other experienced workers at a series of job fairs throughout the state.

The department is recruiting employees to work in administration, transportation, communications, information technology, counseling, and more. The department is hosting a series of job fairs between April 7 and April 23. The recruiting events are being hosted in Dalton, Statesboro, Warner Robins, Griffin, Albany, Clarkson and Swainsboro.

The safety stand down event is scheduled for April 7-11, which is also National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week.

Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials say contractors will stop work from 7 to 8 a.m. for work zone safety training sessions. OSHA officials say objects and vehicles striking workers are a leading cause of construction-related deaths.

Officials say several organizations including the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Highway Contractors Association and more are organizing the event.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

LA real estate firm purchases metro Atlanta mall

MORROW, Ga. (AP) — A Los Angeles real estate firm has purchased a metro Atlanta shopping mall, which had been in foreclosure proceedings.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Vintage Real Estate this week purchased Southlake Mall in Morrow. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The real estate firm said in a statement that it plans to add more fashion retailers and restaurants, and intends to develop the space left empty by JCPenney in 2011.

Vintage chairman Fred Sands said the company has the capital and experience to transform Southlake into a thriving and popular destination.

The mall, which opened in 1976, has annual sales of more than $100 million.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Delta jet makes emergency landing at JFK airport

NEW YORK (AP) — A Delta jet from Atlanta bound for New York's LaGuardia Airport was diverted to John F. Kennedy Airport because of a problem with its hydraulic system.

The plane went off the runway and into a grassy area after making the emergency landing around 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Scott says the plane was diverted to JFK because it has longer runways. She says the McDonald Douglas MD88 was taxiing to the terminal when it rolled onto a grassy area.

Passengers were taken to Terminal 2, where buses to LaGuardia were provided.

The FAA is investigating.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Trial date set in central Georgia gas station shooting

MACON, Ga. (AP) — A trial date has been set for a 74-year-old man accused of gunning down a Georgia woman after his motorized wheelchair and her car came into contact at a gas station in Bibb County.

Judge Howard Simms on Wednesday set Frank Reeves' murder trial for July 7.

The Telegraph reports that defense lawyer Veronica Brinson wants the trial moved due to extensive publicity in the Macon area.

Macon police Sgt. Shermaine Jones has testified that Reeves told him that he intended to fire his gun in the air to scare 65-year-old Linda Hunnicutt.

Police say Reeves shot Hunnicutt after his wheelchair came into contact with her Buick outside a Macon gas station Dec. 4, 2012. She later died, despite efforts of bystanders to revive her on the pavement.

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — With an American flag as a backdrop beneath the surface, a Georgia-based soldier wore scuba gear as he swore to defend the nation during an under-water ceremony.

The unusual re-enlistment ceremony for Army Sgt. Jason Baringhaus was held Wednesday in a pool at Chattahoochee Scuba, a snorkel and swim center in Columbus.

Baringhaus, who trains at the center, tells The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that he didn't want his third re-enlistment to be a typical one. His first re-enlistment was on a monument in Baghdad featuring giant crossed swords. His second was in a helicopter over Signal Mountain at Oklahoma's Fort Sill.

Video posted at the Columbus newspaper's website shows the ceremony, complete with streams of bubbles rising from the gear worn by Baringhous and Lt. Col. Dominick Edwards.

NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) — Police in Newnan are investigating the killing of a 31-year-old man -- the third person shot to death in the west Georgia town within about a week.

Newnan police Officer Jody Stanford says officers found Reginald Lamont Sinkfield lying in a field with a bullet wound to his chest shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said they heard two males running behind residences before one gunshot was heard. Police were searching for suspects Wednesday night.

The Newnan Times-Herald reports that Darian Person and Gregory Marquel Anderson were both shot to death March 25 in the town of about 33,000 residents.

Sinkfield was found about seven houses away from where Person and Anderson were shot. A 23-year-old man faces two counts of felony murder in the slayings of Person and Anderson.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.Man dies after encounter with family on Georgia road

FORSYTH, Ga. (AP) — Central Georgia law officers are investigating the death of a man they say confronted a family in their SUV along a country road.

Monroe County sheriff's officials say John Adam Bevan was driving with his family north of Forsyth around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday when he saw a man -- later identified as 32-year-old Christopher Bryan Bunn of Forsyth -- standing in the road.

The Telegraph reports (http://bit.ly/1dVnEaW) that Bevan told sheriff's deputies that when he stopped his Ford Explorer, the man jumped inside through a back door, where four children were sitting, and ordered Bevan to drive.

Sheriff's officials say Bevan struggled to pull Bunn from the vehicle, wrestled him to the ground and held him there until deputies arrived.

Authorities say Bunn was handcuffed but soon deemed "'unresponsive" and later pronounced dead.

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